Mr Lazy
by basicnsync
Summary: When a criminal is serving time, you are safe from him, right? Deeks and the team find out how wrong this can be when a nemesis from his past reaches from beyond prison walls to get revenge.
1. Chapter 1

It was a daydream—he knew that much, although he could not remember what he was supposed to be doing. Images washed over his mind in waves. The beach, of course. White sand. A lounge chair facing the water, looking into the blinding sunlight. Into his field of vision sauntered a gorgeous leggy brunette. Red floral bikini and a matching sarong tied at her hips, just barely holding on. Kensi. The subject of all of his dreams.

She carried a bottle in one hand and lime wedges in the other. She stood in front of him for a few seconds until he motioned her to sit with him. She straddled his long legs and the chair with ease, and he felt the warmth of her sun-kissed body against his thighs. The light behind her was so bright that he almost had to turn away, but he just couldn't. Kensi pulled a shot glass from her bikini top, making him laugh. She sucked on a lime wedge, then kissed him ferociously. He found it hard to breathe, but then, she always left him breathless. He actually felt pressure on his chest, and thought to himself, "Deeks, man, you've got it bad!"

Her kiss lingered, and all at once he could breathe again, as if she blew air into him. Suddenly she broke away, pouring a shot of tequila right into his open mouth, making him sputter and choke. He coughed painfully, wondering if she meant to do that. He wanted to look her in the face to see if she was laughing or concerned, but that damn sunlight was so bright.

Was she squeezing his chest with her legs? Oh, man it hurt! He gasped for breath as Kensi's face seemed to contort and pulsate; fading until only the light was visible. The tide must have overtaken his chair because he was floating right into the sun now. Abruptly something pulled him back—was it Kensi? Was she mad at him? Who was stabbing his chest? Damn! The light was fading…

"We've got a pulse!"


	2. Chapter 2

The paramedics lifted the limp form onto the gurney with the help of a detective, one paramedic still compressing the ventilator ball at regular intervals. "Any ID on him?" asked the officer as he stood alongside the victim. The paramedic shook his head as he took his position in the vehicle, momentarily removing the breathing mask.

Taking one last look, the officer started, and then said, "Deeks?" He grabbed his phone, snapped a picture, then got out of the way as the gurney was secured in the ambulance and it sped off.

Blinking in the sunlight, Detective Jeff Versey stared after the ambulance.

"Who? You know the guy?" asked a second officer.

Versey shrugged, then pondered what to do next. Was Deeks working under cover? For LAPD or NCIS? He wanted to be careful not to compromise an operation by saying too much. This new detective was easy to get along with, but he had just transferred from another precinct, and Versey didn't fully trust him for some reason. Walking back to his car, he decided to dig out the card that Agent Hanna had given him years ago, and send him the picture to make sure the right people knew what was going on.

In less than thirty seconds, Versey's cell phone rang. "Is he dead?" asked a deep voice.

"The paramedics had to resuscitate him, but he was alive when they left here." As Versey spoke, Agent Hanna seemed to let out a long breath. "They are taking him to Pacific Beach Medical. I could meet you there and fill you in if you want. Is it safe to ID him?"

"Negative. Whoever got to him must've known who he was, but they may think he's dead. We will meet you there. And Versey, thanks."

Sam walked into Ops, where the team had been assembled when he received the picture of Deeks. His attempt at stepping out unnoticed to call Versey had been ineffective. They were all looking at him quizzically when he walked back in. He could not keep his gaze away from Kensi, and she knew instinctively that something was wrong with her partner.

"Kensi, tell us again where Deeks went last night."

Without warning, her eyes welled with tears. "Just tell me, Sam."

"He is on his way to Pacific Beach Medical—and it's bad. I know he was resuscitated before he was transported. I don't know what happened, but…." He pulled up the picture Versey had sent. Deeks, obviously having been pulled from the water, with a bloody, bruised face. Kensi's hand flew to her mouth too late to suppress her cry as Nell's hand flew to Kensi's elbow. Erik grimaced, while Callen pulled his mouth tight and shook his head.

"Who sent the picture?" asked Hetty in a steely voice.

"Jeff Versey, an LAPD detective we worked with when Deeks was shot at the convenience store. He is going to meet us at the hospital and fill us in."

"On our way, then," ordered Hetty as she ushered the three agents out of Ops. She turned to Erik and Nell, "Pull his phone log, see where he was going, get me footage. Do what you do! We'll be in touch."

At the hospital, Versey looked up from the nurses' station to see Hanna, Callen, one very small older lady in a suit, and one very beautiful lady trying unsuccessfully to mask her emotions. Sam skipped the introductions, then said, "Tell us what you know." Hearing a quavering breath exhaled next to him, he said, "Well tell these two while Kensi and I check out Deeks."

"Where is the victim the police brought in?" he asked at the desk, showing his badge.

"You mean the guy who was beaten and thrown in the harbor?" Sam nodded while Kensi squeezed his arm. "Treatment room 4. But he can't talk. I'm afraid it doesn't look very good."

Kensi leaned on Sam as he pulled her down the hall towards room 4. There was a flurry of activity around Deeks, making it almost impossible to see him, and Kensi wanted desperately to see him. His face was mostly hidden by the ventilator mask, but as his clothing was cut away, she glimpsed two wide, deep purple stripes on his chest where her head had laid last night. The purple areas seemed to be merging right before her eyes—or was she light-headed? Comments and orders were coming from all over the room.

"We need to get him to the OR and stop the internal bleeding."

"Left lung is collapsed from blunt trauma. We need a chest tube!"

"His pressure is dropping. We have to get him into surgery now!"

Equipment, doctors, bed, and Deeks all rolled out in a noisy group. As one attendant was tying on his mask, Sam grabbed his arm and nodded towards Kensi. "Do everything you can, please."

Kensi breathed, "He's…I…he's everything." The doctor nodded and rushed on.


	3. Chapter 3

Kensi stood for a moment after Deeks had been wheeled to the operating room, her legs refusing to work. Finally, Sam touched her shoulder and said, "Come on, let's go see what they found out."

As they walked back towards the group, Sam reported on Deeks's condition, while Kensi winced inwardly at the mention of each injury. "Internal bleeding, collapsed lung—looks like he was beaten with a lead pipe or a bat, so I wouldn't rule out a couple of broken bones. He's in surgery. What in the world was he into?" he asked, almost angrily. "What in the hell was he doing with no backup?"

"I'm afraid Detective Versey did not shed as much light on that as I'd hoped," sighed Hetty. She always had a soft spot for Deeks, who put on a cool act that she saw right through from the start.

Callen began, "Versey talked to two guys who worked third shift in the shipyard, who were taking a cigarette break between the containers. They saw a dark SUV drive up, and saw 4 guys pull Deeks out of it. He had already been beaten up, so 2 of them dragged him to the edge. One of the workers called 911 while the other one watched. They were sure Deeks would be thrown in. But first…" he paused and shook his head.

'

Hetty took over. "First they told Mr. Deeks that 'Mr. Lazy' didn't want him to be able to swim and then hit his legs with the pipe." Kensi's breath quickened, and she turned white. Then they said that 'Mr. Lazy' didn't want him to be able to breathe, and hit him in the torso multiple times. As they held him at the edge," here she looked away from them all, "they said that 'Mr. Lazy' told them not to hit him in the head so he would still be aware that he was drowning. Then, they dropped him over the edge."

Noticing how pale Kensi had become, Callen ushered her to the nearest chair, and then they all pulled up seats. Sam said, "So were they calling Deeks Mr. Lazy, or their boss? Neither makes sense. Kensi, does it mean anything to you? Ring any bells?"

She shook her head. Callen added, "The two workers didn't want to be seen, so they were at least 10 yards away. They seemed sure of what they heard according to Versey. After they threw Deeks in, they sped off, sideswiping one of the containers, a blue one. That SUV should have a blue streak on its side."

Kensi spoke for the first time. "Were Erik and Nell able to find anything?"

"The shipyard of course has surveillance, but the SUV was parked just out of range. You can see the attack on Deeks, but from the back, and without any audio. The man who was speaking before each blow of the lead pipe was, however, facing the camera. Erik is using lip reading software to verify what he said," sighed Hetty. "The footage is grainy and distant. Too far for facial recognition. The license plate was removed from the car. No hits from Kaleidoscope."

"I want to see the surveillance footage," said Kensi flatly.

"No," said Callen quickly. "It's dark and far away, but it's brutal, Kens. It won't help."

"But I'm trained at lip reading—I'm better than the software, and I want to help. Hetty, if you can pull it up on your tablet I can see it better than on my phone. Please."

Hetty said, "Perhaps she's right, Mr. Callen. Erik, send it to my tablet," she said into her ear wig.

"On its way," he answered quietly. Erik and Nell, back at ops, looked at each other helplessly, much the way they looked when Hetty ordered Erik to send Deeks the picture of Kensi in Afghanistan that looked as if she was dead. Sometimes it was nice to have the security of staying at a safe distance reveling in the discoveries that technology provided. Sometimes it sucked.

The first time Kensi looked at the footage, and saw Deeks being dragged and beaten, the constant flow of silent tears blurred her vision, and the pain she felt at each blow took her breath away, making her feel nauseous. She sat for a minute when it ended, made an effort to slow her breathing, and wiped her cheeks with the backs of her hands. No one said a word. She hit play again, this time forcing herself to focus on the man giving the narrative, facing the camera, barely discernible in shadows. It made no sense, but the report of the worker seemed to be accurate. Mr. Lazy. But something struck her about the word "Mister."

"Look," Kensi said to the others. When he says 'Mister,' his mouth is pulled into a long e sound, like he's saying 'Meester,' like he has an accent."

"That seems like an Eastern European pronunciation. That may be helpful. Good work," said Hetty as she patted Kensi's knee in an attempt to be comforting.

"Kensi", said Sam, "we still need to talk about last night. Tell us what you know about when Deeks left.

"He woke me up around 3:00a.m. and said he had received a text asking him to go and meet with an old contact about protecting an asset. I assumed it was LAPD if the rest of the team wasn't involved, and told him to be sure he had clearance from you," she said, looking at Hetty. "I was very groggy, but I'm sure he said he had clearance, and not to be surprised if he was late today or didn't show up at all."

"I have no knowledge of an asset needing protection, and neither does Lieutenant Bates at LAPD. I'm sorry, Kensi, but he received no clearance from me," Hetty said quietly.

"It doesn't make any sense," Kensi said, her brow furrowed. Why would he lie to me?"

"I think I can help with that," announced Erik appearing on the tablet Hetty was holding. "I accessed Deeks's phone like you asked me to, and I found this. He did receive a text, but it came from a burner phone that I was able to track the GPS on. It was activated at a kiosk in the airport, then it traveled to a parking lot at an abandoned power plant by way of the LAPD headquarters. From there it went to the shipyard and must have been thrown in with…..Deeks."

He pulled up a text message that said, "We can get to her just like Trainor. Meet at the parking lot of the old power station alone in 30 minutes, or she'll never wake up." Attached was a photo of Jess Trainor, and another of Kensi and Deeks asleep together that very night, with her head on his chest. It may have been taken just minutes before the text came through.

"Oh my God," said Kensi, horrified at the thought of being watched. Horrified at the thought of Deeks putting himself in danger to protect her.

"That's Jess Trainor, who was Deeks's partner for awhile at LAPD, remember?"

"Indeed, Mr. Hanna, she became his handler and came to us when Deeks went missing while working undercover on a human trafficking case. She was killed in a car explosion."

"By a Serbian named…" he and Sam looked at each other and said together, "Lazik!"

"That's it!" said Kensi. The man in the video was saying Mr. Lazik, not Lazy, and the worker wasn't close enough to hear the difference.'

"Lazik was sent to a maximum security federal penitentiary," said Callen. There must be some of his entourage still loyal enough to him to come after Deeks for revenge—or to reestablish his human trafficking trade. And they went by police headquarters. Lazik must still have a contact there. Who was the officer in charge for that case?"

"Scarli," said Kensi. " Don't you remember? You let Deeks take a swing at him when he asked Deeks if Trainor was good in bed. I had never seen Deeks that mad before."

"Well, Scarli is in the pen, too," remarked Sam. We have to find out why the phone stopped at LAPD. There must be a new contact. Or an old one. He and Sam exchanged a glance.

"Versey?" they questioned together.

"OK. The time has come for us to get back to headquarters and see what we can accomplish from there. Miss Blye, I have taken the liberty of calling your mother to sit with you while you wait for your partner to come out of surgery. I trust that is all right with you."

"Yes," Kensi said quietly, grateful that she wouldn't be there alone in case there was bad news.


	4. Chapter 4

Just then, Kensi's mom came around the corner, and although she felt childish, Kensi allowed herself to be pulled into her mother's embrace. Hetty had secured a private waiting area for them to move to. LAPD couldn't be trusted to provide a security detail since they weren't sure who the contact was. Versey was told to report that the victim had died en route to the hospital. Surprisingly, Hetty told Kensi that Granger had come and offered to be on protection detail at the hospital in case there really was a threat to her. He was somewhere on the premises, checking them out. The rest of the team left with assurances that Kensi would notify them with updates on Deeks.

"How is Marty, Sweetheart?" asked Julia.

"It's really bad, Mom. And he was trying to protect me." She sniffed, then gave in to the emotions she had been trying to keep in check. " If he dies, what will I do?" she sobbed, resting her head on her mother's shoulder. The older woman stroked Kensi's hair and wiped her own tears. She had always hoped Kensi would find love, but she knew her independent daughter would not fall easily. Marty was the perfect combination of softness, edginess, and sincerity—something Julia saw years ago when Marty first appeared at her door to take her into protective custody at Kensi's request. Julia could tell even then that he was smitten with Kensi, even though it took the two of them years to stop fighting it. When you work that hard at resisting something inevitable, losing it makes the wasted time seem unbearable.

In the LAPD impound lot, Detective Jeff Versey tapped his fingers on the steering wheel impatiently. He had parked on the far side of the main building, so he could see any vehicles brought in without being noticed. The impound lot called looking for Maloney, the newly transferred detective, because they found nothing wrong with the department vehicle he had brought in for mechanical issues. Versey's interest was piqued when he was told Maloney had asked to use a specific car from the impound lot while his was being repaired—an SUV. Why would a single guy, whose own car was a small sporty one, specifically request such a vehicle, when there was nothing wrong with his? Again, Versey was hit with the feeling that Maloney couldn't be trusted.

Versey told the manager of the impound lot to call Maloney's cell phone, then he left to wait at the lot. When Maloney came in fifteen minutes later, Versey noticed he drove the vehicle to the back of the lot, then walked through the rows of cars to turn in the keys and retrieve his own. Versey was able to move through the lot undetected, then examine the SUV up close as Maloney drove away in his sports car. As he walked around to the left side of the vehicle, he saw it. A stripe of blue paint. Sending Hanna a picture for the second time that day, he called in a team to comb through the car carefully, looking for traces of hair, blood, or anything else that could tie Maloney to the attack on Deeks. But Maloney had been with him at the scene, right?

Then Versey remembered they had come separately, with Maloney riding along in a squad car with a uniformed officer from headquarters. He said his car wouldn't start. But he had already taken his car to the impound lot to exchange it for the SUV, hadn't he? Versey planned to pull tape from the camera at the parking lot at headquarters, and he just bet he'd see Maloney pulling in with the SUV before hitching a ride with the black and white. But why would Maloney have a beef with Deeks?

"Agent Hanna," said Versey into his cell phone. Can you use your resources to investigate Detective Patrick Maloney? He transferred to LAPD from Burbank a month ago, and he brought the black SUV with the blue paint streak to the impound lot just a few minutes ago. I've got a forensics team coming to gather evidence, but I can't imagine what connection he has to Deeks. I can issue a BOLO for him and have him detained at the precinct, but not for long."

"Just put a tail on him until we find out some information," said Sam. 'We don't want to tip him off and make him run." Hanging up and turning to Callen, Sam said, "I don't think Versey is a suspect, but he knows who is."

Ten minutes later, Nell appeared on the screen at the boatshed where Sam and Callen were questioning the two shipyard employees, making sure their story rang true. They found no discrepancies, and the men agreed with the pronunciation Kensi had suggested. "Guys," said Nell excitedly. "At first I couldn't find anything suspicious. Maloney has a stellar record, and moved up the ranks quickly. But I kept going back into his personal history. His mother's maiden name was Scarli. He is the nephew of Detective Frank Scarli, who was taking payoffs from Lazik, and went down as part of the same operation. Then, looking at footage from LAX, it was Maloney who purchased the burner phone and stopped by headquarters to switch cars. He met up with the others at the power plant. They came together in a rental, so we are combing through those records."

"In other interesting news," broke in Erik, "Scarli's sister, Maloney's mama, has been his only visitor. She has been there the maximum number of times allowed in the past 3 months, AND there have been some pretty hefty deposits in her bank account lately. We know that Lazik amassed a fortune before Deeks brought him down, and the U.S. government couldn't touch most of it—only what they could prove he earned here."

"All right, you two, good work!" said Callen. Call Versey and tell him to hold Maloney until we can pick him up and take him to the boatshed for questioning. We'll see if he will give up the other three guys, and get him to turn on Scarli or Lazik. Hey, has anyone heard from Kensi?"

"No, and it's been 3 hours," Nell answered.

Sam looked at Callen and said, "At least that must mean he's still alive."


	5. Chapter 5

Kensi waited. She waited while Maloney was being detained and questioned. She waited while the forensics team managed to find one bloody blond hair in the carefully vacuumed SUV in the impound lot. She waited while guards in two different prisons searched the cells of Scarli and Lazik, looking for anything to prove they had been in communication. She waited while Deeks' heart stopped in surgery. She was unaware of all of this, and allowed herself to dream without sleeping during her wait. She dreamed of Deeks at the beach. His hair lightened by the sun, and his skin tasting of salt from the ocean. Her head on his chest.

"Agent Blye?" asked the weary looking doctor whose arm Sam had grabbed before surgery. Kensi nodded, afraid to move much. Her mother put her arm around Kensi's shoulder. "He's in recovery. The surgery was tough, and he is in critical condition. We reinflated the lung and removed his spleen, but there was significant trauma. Blood loss was…considerable. He has had almost a complete transfusion. The blood loss led to his heart stopping, but we were able to restart it. He has a broken collarbone, tibia, and several ribs. He will remain on a ventilator for a few days, until the danger of secondary drowning passes, and his organs have time to heal."

"Secondary drowning?" asked Julia.

Kensi explained, "When a near drowning takes place in salt water, the salt itself draws fluid into the lungs, and it can cause drowning days later from within." Her voice was almost a whisper.

"Right," said the doctor. "So you see, this recovery will be slow. I wish I could offer more hope, but I think you should be prepared. I don't think he can survive another cardiac event." Kensi nodded blankly. "You can go in and see him now."

Kensi and her mother walked in arm-in-arm. Julia was impressed by Kensi's stamina after such a long day. Walking in, they both paused. There was so much white—the bandages, heart monitor leads, sheets, even the ventilator tube positioned between his teeth. The room itself was full of noises—important noises, proof that Deeks was alive—heart monitor beeping, ventilator forcing air in and out, blood pressure cuff coming to life every few minutes. But Deeks himself was unnaturally quiet. Kensi longed for a bad joke, an irritating jingle, a sigh of passion.

She settled in on his right side so she could touch his hand, since his left arm was bound to his chest to relieve pressure on the broken collarbone. Broken. Silent. Unresponsive. These words had never pertained to Deeks before.

More waiting. Kensi let her mother handle the nurses who at first insisted on a short visit, but relented to Kensi's constant presence at last. One by one, the rest of the team came in to sit with her, offering words of encouragement, and trying in vain to get her to go home and rest for awhile. On day 3, she did concede and leave for four hours—long enough for a nap and a shower while Nell came by and stayed with him. She would listen as closely as Kensi to the sounds in the room and notice if any of them stopped.

On the fourth day, the doctors took Deeks off the ventilator to see if he could breathe on his own. The entire team gathered for that, standing together in the waiting room at the insistence of the doctor. The relief was tangible when he emerged to tell them that it worked. He was no longer in an induced coma, and the threat of further complications was lessened.

Kensi talked to him constantly, filling the room with her voice in the absence of his. She traced her fingers along his face and arm, held his hand, fingered his hair. She told him jokes, cried, begged. She longed for a reaction, but the only movements were from Deeks' eyes. Under his eyelids, she saw his eyes move and twitch, as if he was searching for something just beneath his consciousness. He was. It was Kensi.


	6. Chapter 6

Deeks waited. He waited for Kensi on the lounge chair at the beach. He could hear her, but he couldn't see her. A cloud had passed in front of the bright sunlight, making him cold. He somehow felt that when he found Kensi, the cloud would move, and he would be warm again. Why would she stay out of sight? He could almost feel her fingers in his hair and on his arm. He was becoming annoyed at this constant beeping noise, which was growing louder than the crashing waves. Then he felt a squeeze around his bicep—Kensi?

Marty Deeks opened his eyes on day 6. He saw Kensi reading in the chair next to him and said, "There you are!"

She dropped the book, smiled, and sighed, "Where else would I be?" Rising to stand by his bed, she reached over and laid the back of her hand on his cheek. She wore the most brilliant smile Deeks had ever seen, even though her tears fell unchecked onto his chest. The breath they both seemed to be holding came at last in ragged spurts.

"Oh, Marty, what would I have done without you?" she sobbed, laying her cheek next to his while she kissed the hollow that had formed there. He tried to draw her in with his free arm, only to hiss in pain as he discovered his surgical site and broken ribs inhibited his movement. Kensi moved away from him in reaction, not wanting to hurt him.

"I need you close to me, Kensi," he murmured. "I've been so cold, and you are my sunlight. I kept looking for you. I could hear you, but I couldn't find you." She found just enough room to sit near his hip, so she could be as close as possible without causing him more pain. "Please don't cry," he said, even though his own tears were falling freely. "I can't remember what happened. I only remember looking for you."

Kensi kissed him lightly as she rubbed her nose against his. She could look at those gorgeous, open blue eyes for eternity and never be satisfied. "There will be plenty of time to fill you in, but first, I just want to look at you."

Maddie, the day nurse, walked by Deek's door and actually fist pumped the air when she saw that his eyes were opened. She should absolutely go in and check his vitals, alerting the doctor that he was conscious. She would do exactly that - when she had given them some time alone. Kensi deserved that, and from where Maddie stood, she could see the happy tears shed by both. The doctor happened by just then, and Maddie stammered, "I was just going to page you. Detective Deeks is awake."

Dr. Allen just stood there looking in the door with Maddie and said, "Let's give them a few minutes."

Three weeks later, after paperwork, details, and missing memories had been filled in, Kensi and Deeks sat together in a lounge chair in front of their cabana in Mexico. The red bikini Deeks ordered online as a surprise for Kensi had been delivered to the resort that morning. The matching sarong had been discarded when they sat down at his request. "I have a sweet tooth, and you are eye candy!" he joked, making her roll her eyes and beam at the same time. "How private is this beach?" he asked with a grin.

Kensi untied her bikini top and answered, "Let's find out!"


End file.
